302 Western Live-stock Management 
The entire work of gentling must be conducted with but 
one aim, to win the confidence of the horse, for no wild 
horse will be gentle until he is confident that the men will 
treat him kindly. Horses act largely from force of habit. 
After doing a thing a few times, they keep on whether there 
is a reason for it or not. A horse has a good memory, but 
very little real intelligence. He has much mettle and 
energy, with a high-strung nervous system, but very 
little reasoning power. All of these characteristics must 
be borne in mind when gentling a horse. Great care 
must be taken to see that all ropes, halters, harness, and 
the like are strong, so there is absolutely no danger of 
’ breaking. 
BREAKING TO TIE 
Before tying the colt, one should see that the halter is 
especially strong. No ordinary halter is strong enough 
to hold a healthy colt of two years. A very heavy halter 
made for the purpose should be procured. It is usually 
better to take a three-quarters-inch rope, pass it through 
the ring of the halter, and tie it around the neck with a 
bowline knot. Even if the halter is strong enough to 
hold the colt, it is not safe to tie and leave him, for he may 
pull hard enough to kink his neck or bruise his head. 
There are various ways of tying colts and halter-pullers. 
One of the most satisfactory methods is to take a three- 
fourths-inch rope, run it through the halter, and tie it with 
a running knot around the body. Therefore, when the 
colt pulls back, instead of pulling against the halter, the 
rope tightens and squeezes him around the abdomen and 
the result is that he will come up to the snubbing pole or 
manger. (See Plate XIII.) It is very often practical to 
force the colt to pull back once or twice against this and 
